APRIL 16, 2002

Button leads testing at Silverstone

TEN of the eleven teams tested at four separate circuits Tuesday in preparation for the Spanish GP on April 28, seven of them at Silverstone, the venue for the British GP on July 7.

Jenson Button led all drivers at the British circuit in the Renault R202, and led fellow Brit Eddie Irvine, who's Jaguar team had another disappointing race at Imola last weekend. Irvine and teammate Pedro De la Rosa qualified their R3s in 18th and 21st for Sunday's race, and neither finished due to mechanical problems.

Nick Heidfeld was back in action for Sauber after a frustrating weekend in Italy. The German end the day third fastest at Silverstone, while his teammate, Felipe Massa, conducted aerodynamic and tire testing at Vairano in Italy. Massa and Heidfeld will continue their testing programs Wednesday, and Massa will take over for his teammate at Silverstone on Thursday, for the final day of the test.

Honda-powered teams BAR and Jordan tested with Anthony Davidson and Takuma Sato at Silverstone Tuesday. Giancarlo Fisichella will join Sato for Jordan on Wednesday and Thursday.

Mark Gene and Antonio Pizzonia tested for Williams in Great Britain, and Gene provided some fireworks when he lost control of his FW24 and spun into the tire barrier at one of the high speed sections of the track. The Spaniard was taken to the local medical center, but luckily escaped with just bruising.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen completed a day of testing for Arrows at Silverstone, a rarity for the under-funded team. The German driver completed 29 laps of the Silverstone circuit.